10 tips for cooking with kids

Kelly Downing

Published Tuesday December 27, 2011 at 6:00 am

Updated Sunday August 11, 2013 at 11:11 am

My 2-1/2 year old loves cooking in the kitchen with me. I should have known, I mean, I did watch The Food Network 24/7 when I was pregnant and home on maternity leave. She has always seemed fascinated with the happenings in the kitchen. I guess I can understand why. There are a lot of fun noises, bright colors and delicious smells.

Some of favorite things my daughter says include "Mmmm...that smells tenicious (delicious)," and "My tummy feels nummy." She cracks me up every time.

Cooking with your little ones can be a lot of fun. Here are some useful tips for you:

PHOTO/ Kelly Downing

Kelly Downing's daughter having fun with a mixing bowl.

My 2-1/2 year old loves cooking in the kitchen with me. I should have known, I mean, I did watch The Food Network 24/7 when I was pregnant and home on maternity leave. She has always seemed fascinated with the happenings in the kitchen. I guess I can understand why. There are a lot of fun noises, bright colors and delicious smells.

Some of favorite things my daughter says include "Mmmm...that smells tenicious (delicious)," and "My tummy feels nummy." She cracks me up every time.

Cooking with your little ones can be a lot of fun. Here are some useful tips for you:

1) Expect it to get messy and be okay with it.

2) Set the rules (no touching oven, no eating raw eggs) and make sure your little one sticks to them or else fun cooking time is over.

3) Pre-measure ingredients and then let your little one pour into mixing bowl. I measure everything and crack open the eggs and put into little plastic prep bowls.

4) Use the opportunity to introduce new foods Ito your little one. My toddler is a picky eater, but we were able to introduce pumpkin into her diet this fall and now use it in oatmeal and pancakes. She loved the bright color and knowing it was from a pumpkin intrigued her.

5) It's okay to fake it. What do I mean by that? Well, after realizing we made muffins three days in a row, I couldn't stomach making any more. So I threw some flour, sugar and water in a bowl with some chocolate sprinkles and let her mix away. She was just as happy!)

6) Make food in fun kid friendly ways…it may get them to eat new things, and it's just more fun. Make macaroni and cheese in muffin cups. Add some veggies to grilled cheese. Add fun shaped pasta to homemade soups.

7) Make it fun and allow your little ones to create own concoctions. Whether you are making soup, pancakes or pizza, set out different ingredient options and allow your little one to make it their own. My little one gets so happy when she does it “all by herself.”

8) Wear the gear. Make it even more fun by getting matching aprons and even chef's hats!

9) Involve your little one as much as is age appropriate. Cooking with my little one began with her in her high chair stirring water with a whisk. Now she is very helpful and even gets to man our big stand mixer.

10) Don't think you have to cook "gourmet" foods all the time. I love to cook things from scratch, but sometimes cookies from a box are just as good. My little one truly doesn't care WHAT we cook; she just likes to spend time with me in the kitchen doing things together.

One of my favorite meals to cook with my little one is pancakes. Whether for breakfast, brunch or BFD (breakfast for dinner), pancakes are always a delicious comfort food. Pancakes are a great choice to make and “doctor” up in different ways to suite everyone's tastes. Below is a link to one of my favorite recipes.

Kelly Downing is a native of Grafton and now lives outside of Boston with her husband Nick and two beautiful young daughters (ages 2 ½ and 4 months). By day, Kelly is Chief Marketing Officer of a marketing agency, but by night, she runs a blog called TinySophisticate that focuses on family, fashion, food, and fun. TinySophisticate gives Kelly a voice and an outlet to discuss how she defines motherhood and parenting, and life as a mom. Kelly is also a proud Syracuse alum, foodie, DIY experimenter, party planner, Disney fanatic, social media addict and wannabe fashionista.